Lang Jiuchuan had not expected that before she could even obtain the list of the Marquis of Zhenbei’s political enemies from A’Piao, she would first hear news of the deaths of Director Ou and his grandson.

The mourning notice arrived just as she was preparing to head to Huguo Temple with Cui Shi and the others to handle the memorial rites for the anniversary of Lang Zhengfan’s death, when the messenger from the Ou family came to the Marquis’s residence.

“Director Ou and his grandson are gone?” Lang Jiuchuan looked at the Ou family servant who had brought the news, somewhat taken aback.

The servant was dressed in hemp mourning clothes, a strip of white cloth wrapped around his waist. He wiped the corner of his eye and said, “Yes. When the old master and the Third Young Master went to visit friends in the outskirts of the city, rocks rolled down from the hillside outside the city walls. Their horse was startled, the carriage overturned and fell into a ditch, and neither of them could be saved.”

Lang Jiuchuan’s expression darkened. That kind of accident might fool others, but it could not fool her. It was most likely a consequence of the love-compulsion gu affair — she just did not know whether the two of them had died by another’s hand or their own.

But was the only one supposed to die not Ou Sixing alone?

A few days ago, she had noticed that the old director’s vital energy was fading, but it had not yet reached the point of death’s shadow enveloping him. And now he was dead.

No good end. The hexagram had responded.

Lang Jiuchuan closed her eyes briefly, then stepped forward toward Cui Shi. “I had some karmic connection with the old Director. Now that I have learned of his passing, I should go light a stick of incense for the elderly gentleman before heading to Huguo Temple. Madam may go on ahead.”

Cui Shi frowned. “It would not be quite proper for you to go alone as a young girl. Since the Ou family has already sent someone to report the death, your great-uncle should be going to offer condolences — go along with him.”

Lang Jiuchuan had no objection. She watched their carriage depart, then returned to the gatehouse and had someone notify Lang Zhengping, while she herself waited inside, and as she waited for her great-uncle, she turned over the matter of Director Ou’s and his grandson’s deaths in her mind.

With this hexagram of hers, Director Ou had fulfilled half of it — though it had not unfolded exactly as the omen indicated, it had ultimately come about through that grandson of his.

Lang Jiuchuan sighed.

Thinking of the way Director Ou had looked, with his kind and gentle eyes, she felt a heaviness in her chest.

When Lang Zhengping came hurrying over, he found his grand-niece sitting in a chair with her head slightly bowed, wearing an expression so unwelcoming that even the manservants and maidservants in the gatehouse dared not approach her.

Seeing Lang Zhengping arrive, Lang Jiuchuan stood up, gave a slight nod in greeting, and went out the door with him to board the carriage.

“So you had some karmic connection with Director Ou — why have I never heard you mention it?” Lang Zhengping straightened his collar, which he had not had time to smooth properly, then sighed again. “For both grandfather and grandson to meet with an accident together — truly, life is impermanent.”

“Not entirely impermanent. Director Ou’s death was, in all likelihood, divined by me.”

Snap.

Lang Zhengping yanked too hard and pulled the clasp right off his collar. The button dropped onto the carriage floor with a crisp clatter. He stared at her in astonishment. “You — what did you say? You divined it? You divined Director Ou to death? You calculated his death?”

Good heavens, why was it that whenever he went to pay condolences with her, he always heard something utterly preposterous from her lips?

Lang Jiuchuan gave a nod. “Some time ago, I performed a golden-needle cataract procedure for Senior Official Zeng of the Ministry of Personnel. The director happened to accompany him, and when I observed his countenance, I saw the mark of one who would not die peacefully, so I cast a hexagram for him.”

Lang Zhengping: “……”

So she cast one hexagram and the man died. Truly effective — uncannily, horribly effective.

Lang Jiuchuan saw his blank, dumbfounded expression and said, “His death was not caused by himself. It was his grandson — the same Ou Sixing who died alongside him. By the way, Ou Sixing had been implanted with a love-compulsion gu. Can you guess who arranged it? Xie Zhenming. He gave this gu to his daughter, Noble Consort Qing, who then planted it on Ou Sixing.”

Lang Zhengping heard this and immediately sat up straight, his mind turning rapidly. A palace consort had used a gu on an imperial physician — one she had implanted through compulsion — this was a violation of the inner palace’s propriety. No wonder the man ended up dead.

“Did you tell Director Ou outright, when you read his hexagram, that his grandson had brought this great disaster upon himself?”

Lang Jiuchuan gave a sound of assent.

“Then it is no wonder they are both dead. Violating the inner palace’s propriety is akin to cuckolding the Son of Heaven — could one death really account for that? Even if the imperial family did not wish to speak of this openly to save face, simply using the charge of having harmed the Emperor or an Imperial Prince would be more than sufficient.” Lang Zhengping said, “That old fox Director Ou chose to take this troublemaker to his grave with him in order to preserve the entire Ou clan.”

“Would it not have been enough to simply push Ou Sixing forward as the sole culprit?”

Lang Zhengping shook his head. “How could that possibly be enough? She is a palace consort. For a lowly imperial physician to be entangled with a palace consort and then implant a love-compulsion gu on her — that is not merely putting a green hat on the Emperor. Who could tolerate that? I imagine Director Ou himself knew it would not be enough, which is why he sacrificed his own life as well.”

He let out a long sigh and said, “For the sake of the clan, the one who stands as family head must be willing to sacrifice himself in order to preserve the bloodline and keep the incense burning. Those who chose the wrong side in political struggles have often done the same. Power is like that — it can place a person atop the summit, surrounded by flowers and glory, but it can also cast a person into the mud, their ambitions shattered and buried.”

“If it were you, would you do the same? Sacrifice the lesser self to preserve the greater?”

“Of course I would——” Lang Zhengping paused and looked at her with sudden alarm. “You are not about to tell me that our family is also in trouble, are you?”

Lang Jiuchuan shook her head.

Lang Zhengping let out a small, relieved breath.

But before that breath had fully settled, Lang Jiuchuan said, “However, I do have an enemy even more difficult to deal with than that — the Rong family of the Xuan clan.”

Lang Zhengping: “!”

He looked at Lang Jiuchuan for a long moment before finally saying, “Even if it means swallowing our pride, we must cling tightly to the Gong family.”

Lang Jiuchuan smiled faintly and did not respond to that.

Lang Zhengping’s expression grew despondent. Their Lang family was just too lacking — against the Rong family, they truly had very little chance of winning. They could only borrow strength from others.

When the carriage stopped at the Ou estate, Lang Jiuchuan and her companions happened to run directly into Senior Official Zeng Jichuan. His eyes no longer required the gauze covering now, and so he caught sight of Lang Jiuchuan at once and strode quickly over.

The Vice Minister of Personnel, Zeng Jichuan — Lang Zhengping knew this was hardly the appropriate occasion, but he could not entirely suppress his excitement. He was walking toward him — ah, well……

He was walking toward his grand-niece.

“Old Zeng had a feeling you would come — it is a pleasant surprise to meet you here.” Zeng Jichuan looked at Lang Jiuchuan and sighed. “Who would have thought that within just a few days, we would be separated from Director Ou by the boundary between life and death? Life is truly impermanent.”

Lang Zhengping noticed that Zeng Jichuan’s gaze toward Lang Jiuchuan was the same as an elder looking at a junior of his own family. It felt oddly familiar, and it was only when he spotted several other familiar faces also making their way over that he understood why.

Ah yes — were they not all people his grand-niece knew?

Lang Zhengping looked at Lang Jiuchuan, his expression a complex mixture of emotions and pride, and quietly drew himself up a little taller. Even though these connections were not his own, he was still her great-uncle — he could bask in her glory.

Look — after they greeted his grand-niece, they had also greeted him, had they not? And did he not notice those looks being cast their way? Curious glances, astonished glances, envious glances. Ha — so the day had finally come when Lang Zhengping also had others envying him.

Lang Jiuchuan was entirely unaware of her great-uncle’s inner thoughts. She returned Zeng Jichuan’s words with vague, noncommittal replies. Although she certainly wished for Xie Zhenming to fall into ruin, Director Ou and Ou Sixing were now dead. Whatever price they had paid, she could not drag the Ou family down into the mud on top of it.

Zeng Jichuan, however, was deep in contemplation. Was it all simply fate, then?